photo mag

148
A FAMILY ON THEIR LAWN ONE SUNDAY 1968
WESTCHESTER, NEW YORK
A woman and a man sunbathe while a boy bends over a small plastic wading pool behind them. In 1972, Neil Selkirk was put in charge of producing an exhibition
print of this image when Marvin Israel advised him to make the background trees appear “like a theatrical backdrop that might at any moment roll forward
across the lawn.” This anecdote illustrates vividly just how fundamental dialectics between appearance and substance are for the understanding of Arbus’ art.